Crowbush Cove
A drive over the Northumberland Strait on the 8-mile Confederation Bridge may as well be teleportation to a bygone era. Because what’s on the other side, Prince Edward Island, is a throwback little nook of the world with fairytale elements.
With peaceful winding roads through countryside dotted with farms and tiny villages full of welcoming residents, it all seems a little too good to be true for those arriving from the busy and noisy metropolises of the North American East Coast.
Around these parts, life is slower and incredibly friendly. It’s small enough that it’s a good bet you’ll run into familiar names and faces throughout the trip. Golf clubs, gift shops, bars and restaurants welcome visitors with open arms and delectable seafood. PEI is an epic culinary hotspot full of family-style lobster suppers and chefs making the most of the abundance of local produce, meats, and seafood.
As for the golf, PEI went all-in in the 1990s, investing in the game to put PEI on the golfing map. Today, the collection of courses is deep, with 25 courses making up the Golf PEI menu. There are now more courses per capita than in any other Canadian province. The abundance keeps tee times easy to find and an excellent value. It’s such a small island (140 miles long), it’s all easy to explore on one trip, but charming enough you’ll keep coming back.
Here is the PEI A-list:
Links at Crowbush Cove
The headliner on PEI is the Links at Crowbush Cove, which is considered the most challenging for low-handicappers and delivers the most dramatic setting on the island’s north shore, featuring holes along the rugged, dunesy coastline. Opened in 1994 and designed by Canadian architect Thomas McBroom, a few are demanding forced carries over water, pot bunkers tucked beside greens and rippling fairways, and the elements off the coast can be felt. It’s certainly a favorite for PEI’s most sensational layout from start-to-finish.
Dundarave
36 holes at Brudenell River and Dundarave
The most popular multi-course facility can be found in Cardigan at Brudenell River, which features two very different 18-hole courses and onsite Rodd Brudenell River accommodations. Opened in 1969, Brudenell River is the original 18 here and features a resort-golf-friendly layout with six par-5s, 4s, and 3s. In 1999, Dundarave was added next door. It’s a demanding, championship course designed by Dana Fry and Michael Hurdzan that features dramatic red sand bunkers. The dramatic 8th hole is a cape-style, risk-reward tee shot that plays from an elevated tee and is on the shortlist for signature holes on the entire island.
Green Gables
In Prince Edward Island National Park, famed Canadian architect Stanley Thompson laid out one of his coveted national parks courses at Green Gables. While it’s been modified since originally opening in 1939, most recently with a renovation by Thomas McBroom, golfers can enjoy supreme peace and solitude on an island already teeming with it. It’s a delightful routing that is highlighted with a stop past the house inspired by the novel Anne of Green Gables.
Be sure to save your energy for the closing stretch as the course culminates with back-to-back par-5s.
Round out your itinerary on these courses
With over two dozen courses in such a small area, PEI is a deep golf destination so you can stay as long as a week and still be playing excellent courses.
On the west side, Mill River Golf Course is worth the drive for wide fairways tucked through quiet, forested fairways.
Or for something more Scottish heathlands-inspired, check out Glasgow Hills, whose inland layout tumbles up and down gentle hills.
Andersons Creek is another popular course featuring a pleasant routing designed by popular Canadian architect Graham Cooke and opened in 2003.
Where to stay on PEI
Another highlight of PEI is the wide variety of accommodations from on-course cottages to classy hotels in the heart of Charlottetown. Several of the best courses have onsite lodging where you’re steps from the first tee and driving range, like Rodd Brudenell River, Rodd Crowbush, or Mill River. You can find affordable hotels or get a multi-bedroom cottage for your buddies trip.
It’s a mostly quiet island, so for lodging near the festivities and nightlife, the capital town of Charlottetown where lively beer gardens, microbreweries, Irish pubs and excellent dining can be enjoyed after golf. The Red Shores horse racing track and casino are good fun in the summertime. The Great George Hotel and Rodd Charlottetown are popular and luxurious lodging options steps from nightlife on Kent Street.